Man-Hours Lost Every Year Due to Accidents
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Apr 29.
When assessing safety risks as a manager in a high-risk industry, many of theÂ factors contributing to the analysis involve cost. What will be the loss or gain aWhen assessing safety risks as a manager in a high-risk industry, many of theÂ factors contributing to the analysis involve cost. What will be the loss or gain a
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Man-Hours Lost Every Year Due to Accidents

When assessing safety risks as a manager in a high-risk industry, many of theÂ factors contributing to the analysis involve cost. What will be the loss or gain associatedÂ with given safety risk? Particularly when a company has multiple risk hazards and potential audits from OSHA in the near future, managersâ€™ conduct a risk-assessmentÂ analysis.

Although I believe human life canâ€™t be assigned a monetary value, most high-risk industries factor lawsuits, fines, and customer losses into the safety factor equation.

Would we rather take the risk and potentially cause a fatal accident for one or two workers, causing up to $2 million in retribution, or should we fix the faulty equipment for $5 million and save the workers at risk?

Executives actually make these decisions (claiming to use the utilitarian approach) for the sake of the companyâ€™s shareholders. In the past, industries like heavy construction and aviation have been blamed for gambling with workersâ€™ and consumersâ€™Â lives in order to keep costs low and profits high.

One of the most overlooked statistics, when executives make risk-based decisions, is loss of worker productivity. In addition, worker compensation or sick leave may be granted in safety cases, causing productivity loss and increased labor costs on top of potential lawsuits.

Using the proper safety management software and training procedures will allow your company to understand risks more effectively and make decisions quickly andÂ concisely for the company and workforce team. Below are some of the statistics to keep in mind when making decisions about temporary worker losses.

Work Accidents & Lost Labor

Opportunities are Great â€“ Work accidents leading to physical or mental occupationalÂ injury occur more often than most professionals would like to think. In fact, more than 330 million accidents happen on the job each year, with around 2.3 million deaths occurringÂ from those accidents. Due to the widely accepted fact that most accidents arise from unsafe behavior and/or unsafe conditions, worker productivity losses can have obvious correlations with workplace safety.

More Than Just Man-hours â€“ As explained before, employers want to implement suitableÂ measures to prevent accidents in the workplace for a number of benefits. Workers become more efficient on the job and compliance builds a better reputation amongst partners, suppliers, and customers — ultimately reducing costs and enforcing positive branding. In addition, accidents not only lead to direct production loss, but also long-term labor utilization costs with high turnover and impacts on morale, and therefore production.

Understand the AR â€“ The AR is a safety equation used by labor statistics organizationsÂ for the benefit of correlating lost productivity with worker injury. The equation, also known as the Accident Rate, relates the number of working days lost per employee eachÂ year to the hours worked. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website is a greatÂ resource for benchmark statistics and comparative analytics for managers. Many of the statistics include graphs and summarizations of data, highlighting trends in previous safety data.

Consistent Man-Hours Lost â€“ Although lost workdays have not increased dramaticallyÂ over the last five years, the number hasnâ€™t decreased either. Work-related illnesses have consistently contributed to 25-30 million days lost per year for nationwide industries.

Since the turn of the century, work-related illnesses have been more abundant thanÂ workplace injuries, contributing to approximately 80% of workdays lost. Although both illness and injury accidents decreased since 2000, last year more than 35 million daysÂ were lost through industries. This number is an increase of approximately 2 million from 2011/2012 consensuses consensuses workdays lost. Although both illness and injury accidents decreased since 2000, last year more than 35 million daysÂ were lost through industries. This number is an increase of approximately 2 million from 2011/2012 consensuses

Imagine what American industries could do with all of the lost production andÂ money from illness and injury incidents in the workplace. With over 280 million labor hours lost, the monetary equivalent to that must undoubtedly upwards of $4.2 billion.

Include health insurance, lawsuit compensation, and training costs into the mix, and youâ€™ll see that keeping people on the job is imperative to American business. The inherent value, as well as the additional insight and oversight from regulatory bodies like OSHA, have seen the rise of businesses who do no other work than to assist companies in mitigating risks and loss of production efficiently. Websites like www.ecompliance.comÂ showcase some of the solutions have have been developed due to advances in technology and training methods.

About the author:

Matthew HallÂ is a freelance writer and professional student who contributes articles and advice on a variety of issues affecting the business world and the challenges of the business and process management.